YES, the IRS CAN garnish your Social Security Retirement benefit! This is a relatively new program, though it was apparently authorized under legislation from several years ag…o. If your monthly benefit is more than $750, they may garnish 15% of your monthly benefit for taxes that are at least six months in arrears. (This doesn't apply to certain Social Security Disability benefits and perhaps other types of Soc. Sec. benefits, but it does apply to S.S. Retirement. I know, because I just got a letter from the IRS notifying me that they'll be taking $207 from my monthly payment.) The IRS is required to notify you before it begins to garnish your Soc. Sec., but in my case the notice arrived just two days in advance. You can appeal the garnishment for reasons of "hardship," but you should do it immediately upon receiving the notice, or they'll garnish your next payment. Actually, it is the Treasury Dept. that has the authority to withhold any money owed to the federal government out of any U.S. Treasury payments to its citizens or suppliers. Treasury writes ALL checks for the government, so they were given the authority....don't forget the oldest rule: You cannot escape death and taxes, so please pay your taxes, and hope for a long life. While notice of an SS payment holdback needs to be given, (unlike most of the other offsets the government may make on payments it sends), an argument that you weren't given enough time would likely fall on deaf ears...you were more than likely well advised and given protest/dispute opportunities about the DEBT that is being paid - and failed to adequately respond or say why you didn't owe it and the Government was wrong in demanding payment...perhaps thinking there wasn't much they could do? Garnishment of SS is well on in the collection process.

Answer No, ordinary creditors can't garnish Social Security benefits. However, the IRS can. This is a relatively recent program. If your Social Security benefi…t is more than $750/month, and you have an IRS obligation that's more than 6 months in arrears, the IRS can garnish 15% of your monthly benefit. As I understand it, this may not apply to Soc. Sec. Disability or perhaps to other types of Soc. sec. benefits, but it definitely applies to S.S. Retirement benefits. (I know, because I was just notifed that they'll be taking $207 from my monthly benefit!) They must notify you in advance, but the notice may arrive just a couple days before they garnish your next payment (mine did). You then have the right to appeal it, based on "hardship," but you should contact the IRS right away or they'll garnish your next payment. Answer NOT SS disability payments. Answer No. All Social Security benefits are totally exempted from creditor action, except by the IRS under the recent program mentioned above.

Answer No. Social Security income is considered a "protected class" and cannot be garnished. Most garnishments would be a result of a court order and n…ot because of some private company got a wild hair. The IRS is the only exception to effecting a garnishment without benefit of a court order that I know of.

Social Security does not allow garnishment of disability benefitsby creditors. Any credit card company, business, or individual whohas won a judgment against you will never ga…rnish your SocialSecurity disability check. Social Security will allow garnishment of your SocialSecurity disability benefits for current and past due child supportor alimony. And the Internal Revenue Service is allowed to garnishSocial Security disability and retirement benefits for delinquenttaxes. Also, in addition to the IRS, other federal agencies may be allowedto garnish Social Security disability benefits. For instance, if an individual owes student loans that werefederally guaranteed their Social Security disability benefit canbe garnished. In theory, any money owed to the federal government can conceivablybe garnished from Social Security retirement or disability checks. If you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disabilitybenefits, however, no creditor can garnish your benefit, not eventhe Federal Government. Since SSI is a need based disabilitybenefit, it cannot be garnished.

Yes AND no. Generally speaking, Social Security benefits are exempt from liens EXCEPT federal taxes. However, you will probably have to prove that ALL the money in your bank a…ccount comes from NOTHING but the SS payments.

Answer Social security disability is protected from garnishment in judgments. The only unknown I have in answering this is if the debt is for a student loan, or IRS related a…nd or related to child support payments. Those types of loans/are not even protected if you file bankruptcy. But if your social security income is put into a bank and you deposit other funds then a judgment can be made against the funds in that account as it is not virgin SSI money it is mixed funds and can potentially be seized. Or will cost you time and money (lawyer fees) to prove it is only SSI money. If you need to protect you SSDI funds open a fresh account and set up automatic deposits into that new account, the NEVER, I repeat never ever deposit any non-SSI funds in that account. Never transfer money into that account from another account either (also important). This is very important i you need to cash check from time to time open a second account to deposit funds into, then spend down those funds while leaving you protected funds alone, worse case if a company gets a judgment against you and is allow possession of your bank account they can only touch the non-ssi account. Pay you rent out of the non ssi account, pay for food gas et.. until those funds are spent down then go back to paying you bills using you SSI account. You may be required to open the account with a minimum deposit, you can open it with an actual SSI check or in my case I opened the account with $1.00 and the next funding was a direct deposit from Social Security. Worse case scenario if they claimed mixed funds, sure they can get a $1.00 from me....it will cost them a lot in legal expenses to get that buck though. More Information Your question suggests you're asking whether a commercial creditor can garnish your Social Security check for the outstanding balance on an auto loan. The answer is no. Only the federal government can garnish your Social Security check, and only for limited purposes, such as payment of child support, alimony, delinquent taxes, and debt to other federal agencies. The problem, as the first contributor mentioned, is that collectors may freeze and levy your account after the check is deposited (or direct deposit posted). The Treasury Department planned to implement new rules in 2010 preventing banks from freezing an account that receives federal benefit deposits without evaluating the past 60 days deposits. They would be required to protect any amount equal to the non-attachable deposits (whether that money had already been spent or not). Unfortunately, there's been little mention of the procedure since May 2010. Barring voluntary cooperation from your bank, you can file a "waiver of garnishment" with help from your nearest Legal Aid Society and get a court order stopping the action. You can also notify the creditor that the income is from Social Security, and protected by federal law, and ask the bank to unfreeze your account (all in writing). The process can sometimes take awhile, but you do have legal recourse, so don't allow unethical collectors to take advantage of you. Your Legal Aid Society will not cost you a fortune in legal bills; if you can't afford to pay, they will assist you for free. For more information, see Related Links, below.

No, all SS benefits are exempt from creditor garnishment. They are not exempt from garnishment by the IRS for tax arrearages and in some instances state tax arrearages. Gener…ally no. HOWEVER - they can be garnished for payment of debts owed to the federal government (taxes, federal loans, etc) AND for the nonpayment of child support or alimony. Social Security benefits of any type cannot be garnished for creditor debt, they are protected against such action by federal law. Solution to protect your Social Security from creditors:1- electronic deposit to checking account. 2-withdraw what you don't need to cover in bills. place into interest bearing savings account NOT RELATED YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT, (different bank) or put it in your mattress. Commercial creditors cannot garnish your Social Security retirement check. However, the Federal government may garnish your benefits to recover student loans, back taxes, or any other monies owed to the Federal government. Additionally, your Social Security retirement check may be garnished for current or back child support. (Social Security and Disability Resource Center) For the source and more detailed information concerning your request, click on the related links section indicated at the bottom of this answer box. According to the U. S. Treasury-Financial Management Service, these payments are exempt by Federal Law. The PDF entitled Treasury Offset Program -- Payments Exempt from Offset by Disbursing Officials (Nontax Debt Collection) found in the Related Link below SS benefits of any kind can always be garnished for court order child support. In some cases such benefits can be garnished for court ordered spousal maintenance (alimony) and federal tax arrearages. Another opinion: Not true- federal income tax arrearages can be garnished, but child support is not always able to be garnished. Depends on the circumstances and each case is different. A Family Court in Burlington, Vt. garnished ALL of my SS disability check for alimony. I am disabled and thus have no earnings. What is wrong with the court system? Those in power have all the power! Social Security benefits of any type cannot be garnished for creditor debt, they are protected against such action by federal law. SS benefits can be garnished for federal tax arrearages and child support obligations. Solution to protect your Social Security from creditors:1- electronic deposit to checking account. 2-withdraw what you don't need to cover in bills. place into interest bearing savings account NOT RELATED YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT, (different bank) or put it in your mattress.

Unfortunately, yes it can. You can consolidate the loans and get an income sensitive repayment plan. The payment can be as low as $0, depending on the …income and dependents. You can get help with consolidation at www.defaultms.com/consolidation.html

Yes, if your student loans were Federally Guaranteed, like Stafford, Plus, or Perkins, then the collection agency is permitted to garnish any wages or Social Security income. …This is within the Federal Guidelines. There are only 2 ways to get out of default on your Federally Guaranteed student loans. Contact your collection company or student loan servicer and request to enter the rehabilitation program. Most people qualify, but I have seen some refused when the default is over 10 years old. In the rehabilitation program, you will need to make 9-12 on-time payments in addition to your garnishment. After the 9-12 on-time payments, they should stop the garnishment, but you will stay in a default status until your Rehabed loans are sold to a new lender. In the past, that was an easy process, but in these turbulent financial times, other lenders are not buying rehabed loans. So, with this option your loans will stay in a Default status for the forseeable future.The second way you can get out of default and have your garnishment lifted is to consolidate your loans. These days very few Federal lenders will consolidate defaulted loans and your lender will probably not release the loan for consolidation while in a garnishment stage. The good news is, there are a few companies out there that will help you get a garnishment lifted and find a Federal lender to consolidate the loans. One good example is Default Management Services, Inc. They are the cheapest I have seen and give a 100% money back guarantee on their services. You can Google the company name to get the phone #. Ask for Doug.

Yes, but only the federal government can garnish your Social Security check, and only for limited purposes, such as payment of child support, alimony, delinquent taxes, and de…bt to other federal agencies. Federal law prohibits creditors from garnishing social benefit checks, such as Social Security, unemployment, workers' compensation, SSI, VA benefits, and so on. The problem is that unethical creditors sometimes freeze and levy a bank account after the benefit is deposited and beyond Social Security's protection. Not only will the creditors suck money from your account, but the bank may charge penalties and fees for the garnishment and any checks that bounce. If this happens, you'll need to file a "waiver of garnishment" and get a court order to stop the action and get your money back. You can also notify the creditor that the income is from Social Security and protected from garnishment under federal law, and ask the bank to unfreeze your account (all in writing). Contact your nearest Legal Aid Society for assistance. If you can't afford to pay, they will assist you at no cost.

Unfortunately, yes. The Treasury Department (not the hospital itself) can garnish up to 15% of your monthly Social Security check to satisfy outstanding debt to the VA health …care system, because it is part of the federal government. They can not reduce your monthly benefit below $750 per month. You may be able to file a hardship waiver to prevent the garnishment (if they take that action), but the protected income threshold is pretty low. If you haven't already done so, contact a Veterans Service Officer through one of your local Veteran's Service Organizations (e.g., Vietnam Veterans of America, VFW, AmVets, Department of Veteran's Services, etc.) for assistance. You may want to talk to one of the non-governmental Veteran's groups (like Vietnam Veterans of America) before approaching Veteran's Affairs -- fellow ex-service members are often better advocates than government employees. Don't tackle this alone; VSO services are free and effective.

The following rule applies to "regular" SSI benefits and may also apply to disability payments, but check with the Social Security Administration to be sure. If you have a t…otally separate bank account, either checking or savings, and no money from ANY source other than Social Security has EVER been deposited into it, then that money is protected from garnishment by ANY source, even the IRS or state tax authorities. I started a separate savings account and my monthly payment is direct deposited into it. Then, as I need money, I transfer it to checking for paying bills, etc.

Privatizing social security would mean that it is no longer a guaranteed system that Americans can depend on. Instead, it would be more like a pension program, and many pensio…n programs have ended because private companies have found them too costly. It is not worth the risk of such an important program ending or being downsized. People are really not going to save for there retirement money..that why we have this program so when we retire we can safely know that we have money.